Just don’t ask the Real Slim Shady to do a live stand-up. Eminem made an appearance during ESPN’s Saturday Night Football halftime show on Saturday, Sept. 7, but the usually quick-witted rapper didn’t seem to be all there during the live interview.
The 40-year-old Detroit native, clad in a casual white T-shirt and black jacket, a set of military tags around his neck, looked dazed and confused as Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit introduced him on the show. At times, the rapper let his mouth hang open as he gazed off-camera.
“You are the legend, my friend,” Musberger complimented the “Berzerk” rapper, listing off a whole slew of Eminem’s chart-topping tracks.
When asked what he’s most excited about his new album, MMLP2 (which stands for Marshall Mathers LP 2), Eminem seemed at a loss for words, saying honestly, “Um, nothing.”
“No, when it’ll be out Nov. 5, I’ll probably be most excited to be done with it,” he said while staring intensely off the screen. “It’s called Marshall Mathers II. It’s kind of a revisit to the first Marshall Mathers album.”
After some more awkward banter, the rapper admitted that “live TV freaks me out a little bit,” closing out the interview by telling the sportscasters that he feels “really uncomfortable right now.”
MMLP2 will be Eminem’s first album since 2010’s Recovery; the first track off the collection, “Berzerk,” premiered on Monday, Sept. 9.
